Touché
by MomentarySetback
Summary: Post 5x04, "Reznikov, N." Kensi tries to give Deeks a ride home, but he's not quite ready to leave. Light, banter-filled post-ep.


_**A/N:** Because I was depressed to discover the last five minutes of every ep weren't going to be earth-shattering, hold-your-breath, "It's a love story" moments. Because I couldn't help but notice Deeks got a haircut. Short, light, and maybe a little pointless. I started this right after ep 4 aired…it's a little late now, but better late than never._

* * *

Kensi slipped her last take-home item, a moleskine notebook, into her bag and cast her eyes around the empty ops center. Hetty was likely around somewhere, watching over the center unseen yet aware of everyone's whereabouts. Actually, she was probably watching her right now, Kensi thought with a smile and a glance into the shadows of the perimeter.

Sam had probably gone home to his family with mixed emotions – thankful for what he had, but troubled by all of his partner's unanswered questions, wishing he could do more.

Callen was… Dealing. While her family's complicated past was much different than the gaping hole in Callen's identity, she knew what it was like to not have answers, to ache for truth, to stay up at night searching for it. And she knew how consuming it was when you thought you'd touched a piece of something real, and how much it hurt to feel so close only to realize you were so far. Her lips tightened up at the thought of it, and she hoped that he could find some semblance of peace tonight after the day's events.

And Deeks – well, where the hell _was_ Deeks? Her brows knit together and her eyes dropped down just for a moment as she slipped her back over her shoulder. When she looked back up, she almost jumped at the tiny figure standing in the center of the ops center. Hetty. The only person who moved like she was part ninja, part mouse.

"Still here, Ms. Blye?" Hetty questioned, tucking her arms behind her back.

"I – yes," Kensi said, opting for the easy answer. "I was just finishing up some paperwork."

"I think Mr. Deeks is in the gym," Hetty said intuitively. "Practicing for your next match-up with Callen and Sam, no doubt."

Confusion tightened Kensi's features for a moment, but then realization dawned on her with a smile. Climbing. Of course Deeks was on the wall again. If he hadn't been born a smart-mouthed, unkempt surfer dude, he might have made a pretty good member of the primate family, Kensi thought. Or maybe he was just that competitive. Or maybe he wanted to prove they were better partners. Maybe it was all three, although something told her it was the latter.

"That's my boy," Kensi joked in a role reversal, not missing the twitch in Hetty's slight smile.

Hetty put her palms together contemplatively. "Make sure Mr. Deeks gets home safely," she said, and Kensi unfortunately knew what she meant.

It was the high that had led him to buy a motorcycle, the rush of adrenaline he seemed to be on today.

"I will," Kensi assured with a single nod.

"I know."

There was something about the way Hetty said it – an inflection at the end that begged for questions like she knew something they didn't. It made Kensi tilt her head just slightly, but Hetty dismissed the moment with a "Goodnight, Ms. Blye."

"Goodnight, Hetty."

As she made her way into the rec area, she was surprised to find it eerily quiet. There was no loud music accompanying a fast-paced workout, no bright lights signifying the room was occupied… There was only Deeks silently and steadly climbing that wall, reaching for one hold after the other, calculating distances and reaches not with planning and foresight, but instinct and trial and error. His grey tank was covered in sweat, and she watched his shoulder quiver just slightly in fatigue as he hit the top.

After steadying his footholds, he pushed off the wall, falling backwards in a controlled crash to the thick mat below.

Kensi stepped up to the mat, leaning forward until she came into his line of sight, hovering over him.

He grinned tiredly. "Hey, partner."

She leant him a hand and he gladly accepted, pivoting off his feet to turn himself around as she pulled him up.

"I think you created a climbing beast," he said as he rolled and stretched out his aching shoulders.

"Beast, definitely," Kensi teased, pursing her lips just slightly as her eyes roamed over his unruly hair and facial scruff. "I didn't have to create that." She tilted her head, proud of her comeback as she let it resonate. And he simply grinned, letting her have it, half because it was adorable, half because he loved that she could almost always one-up him.

"You got a haircut."

Deeks was sure he was about to find out why that sounded like such an accusation, but in the meantime he drew a hand over his heart, looking touched. "You noticed."

"Did my one-liner get to you?" Kensi grinned proudly, swaying her shoulders back and forth in a little victory dance. "Had to give the bangs a trim to spite me?"

"Not that it's any of your business, _but_ since you can't seem to stop admiring me… Actually my hair was in my line of sight when shooting," he explained as he dusted climbing chalk off his hands on a nearby towel. "I had to keep doing the whole skater-emo kid head twitch thing." He demonstrated the motion – of course – flipping his head off to the side like his overgrown bangs were still in his eyes.

Kensi watched on, although it was painful – and the look on her face said so. "You look like a dog with fleas."

Deeks smirked, pointing a finger her way as he very pointedly let out a, "Touché." And then he gestured with his hands, pointing to the side like he was delivering a lecture on a blackboard. "See what I just did there?"

She pressed her lips together, rolling them to keep from giving him a smile. "I do. _Thank you_ for that."

Hitching her bag higher up onto her shoulder, she angled her body towards the door. "So you want a ride or not?"

"Maybe after you spar with me," he said, taking a step back and opening his arms invitingly towards the wrestling mat they were standing on.

"I think I'll save you the embarrassment."

"Too scared to play with the jungle cat," Deeks teased. He squatted slightly, getting into position as he held his arms out at the ready. But Kensi simply stood there, tilting her head at him impatiently.

"Come on, I need the practice. What are partners for?" He held his arms up, then dropped them in defeat as she started to walk away. "Kens…Kensalina…_Fern_."

She stopped halfway to the door in agitation, and it was only because she trusted him and couldn't care less that she wasn't on defense when she heard him running up behind her on her blind side.

But instead of him turning in front of her, which she expected, he ducked low, wrapped his arms around her thighs, and hoisted her up over his shoulder.

"_Deeks._" She clenched her teeth in frustration. "Put me down."

But she didn't fight or swing him into any of the numerous holds she could have. She only remained there in disbelief as he smoothly carried her back towards the center of the mat, her bag dropping haphazardly to the floor.

"What's your safe word?" He grinned.

"Seriously?" she asked, but in response he only hoisted her up further for a better grip.

"Shoo," he said, pretending to catch his breath like he'd just finished bench-pressing with Sam. "You might want to lay off the peanut butter cups."

"Okay, that's it," Kensi started, and before he could even react she'd used her weight to flip out of his hold, capitalizing on the momentum by flipping _him_ back and onto the floor. Holding him by his arm, she stood over him and grinned proudly.

"Okay, ow," Deeks struggled out, certain that if she hadn't kept a hold of some of his weight, he'd have had the wind knocked straight out of him. "Seriously, what _are_ you?"

"I think you called me a ninja before," she reminded him, dodging his "unexpected" sweep at her legs. "Isn't that right?" she toyed.

He only smiled, baiting her with a few believable swings her way before she finally bit. When she went for him, he grabbed her arm and twisted her around, pulling her close until her back was pressed against his chest and he had her secured against him.

"And _that's_ what happens when you play with the jungle cat," he gloated.

But what he'd mistaken for careless squirming was actually her strategically freeing her elbow, and the moment she did, she surprised him with a jab to the chest. In one quick movement she switched their roles, grabbing him by the wrist, jerking him forward, and finishing him off by slamming her palm into the center of the small of his back. He dropped to his knees, but was quick to take her down with him.

Instead of pinning her, though, his jeans made his leg slip against the mat. She tumbled with him and he caught her to break her fall, the two of them landing in a pile of twisted limbs and – skin, she noticed. Because when he'd grabbed her and tucked her against him to break her fall, her shirt had been twisted up and he'd ended up with a hand against her bare side – a hand that was still there. And she was hovering over him, one hand on his shoulder, the other just next to his side on the mat, her face less than an inch from his.

Their eyes met and she let out a relieved breath. He felt the warmth on his neck, and when he shifted his position just slightly to free his back from the uncomfortable angle he was in, he found himself even closer to her.

Up close, he could see the hints of honey-brown in her dark eyes, could feel just how soft her skin was. He could feel it bubbling up again – the urge to kiss her, to cut through all the heated banter again and quiet the teasing and taunting the only way they seemed to know how.

Just as his eyes began to cloud over, she smiled – a relieved, disbelieving smile that turned into a soft laugh.

"Touché," she said simply, tilting her head.

_Finally._ Deeks grinned proudly. The moment was lost, but there would be others. Many, many others.


End file.
